"Mom," he tried to get Saskia's attention. "Please. Don't make me regret telling you."

"Goop is the least of my concerns," he said, wrapping his arms around her as he continued to walk them towards the opposite end of the room, closer to the living room. A second drip of blood emerged from his other nostril and he seemed to notice it then, pressing the back of his hand to his nose. "What do we do now? Check the back door? I don't want to leave that thing."

"I guess this is our best chance," he agreed.

He didn't feel like arguing and instead took hold of her hand and led her up the stairs, making quick time to her room. He knew better than to ask the Princess to push furniture, so he got to shoving the dresser aside, relying on his newfound adrenaline spike to get it done fast.

"Get inside," Feo whispered urgently, cracking the door for her and motioning with his free hand.

"Woah, hey," he greeted in surprise as the newcomer nearly sent him toppling. Waiting for a spark of recognition in his brain that never came, he defaulted to his practiced, go-to line. "I wanted to but I lost your number, babe, I swear."

"Please," he implored. "We could both use the rest."

He held her by the arms, peeling her off of him carefully. "Lissssten," he slurred congenially. "I gotta do something first but I'll find you later."

"Don't you grab my girl," Leriph warned, shooting the guy an incensed glare.

Leriph saw red at the implication and swung a messy, off-kilter punch at the guy in retaliation. His fist smacked the offender's face surprisingly hard, and he would have collapsed on the floor from the follow-through had he not caught himself on a bystander.